Escape
by Lorelie-Grace
Summary: AU set in season 2 after Kate's death. When NCIS raid a secluded house supposedly owned by Ari they find more than they bargained for. Tiva :)
1. Chapter 1

**Greetings readers! I'd like to put in a small note her thanking everyone who reviewed my last story road trip. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Also quite a few people have asked if I'm going to do a sequel or a prequel to it; I'm not going to at the minute, but maybe after this story's finished I'll write them :) Now my new story escape is AU, most of the details are explained in the story but here's the things you need to know: It's set at the end of season 2 as Ari has just killed Kate and Ziva lives with Ari in America. Ziva is 19, Tony is 25, Ari is 29 and the rest of the characters are the same ages as they would have been on the show. I will be updating once a week, maybe twice at a push as my homework amount is unbearable at the minute :/ I hope you all enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I'm trying to save up for ownership rights, but I just made a list of people I need to buy Christmas presents for... So maybe not until next year :( **

Ziva sat at her desk, working on the sheet that was before her diligently. She looked out of the barred window, the sun warming her face. She thought she had heard a creaking floorboard, but dismissed it as Ari being back early. She continued to work quietly until the sudden crash of splintering wood and an ear drum shattering yell was heard.

"NCIS!" The silver haired man bellowed menacingly.

Ziva let out a scream as three agents surrounded her, guns trained at her head. She froze, doe eyed too afraid to make a move.

"Get on the floor!" The silver haired barked at her.

Ziva stayed sat on her chair, unmoving with a terrified look on her face.

"I said get down!" The same agent yelled at her again.

Not waiting for her to even respond the oldest agent grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and threw her down on the solid wooden floor. Ziva cried out in pain as her arms were yanked behind her back and cuffed tightly. Her head 'accidentally' bounced off of the door frame as the man hauled her out. After that, everything went black for Ziva. The silver haired agent dragged the unconscious girl into the back of the charger and with the other two agents, he sped away from the secluded wood cabin.

Several hours later Ziva woke to a pounding in her head. She tried to move her arms but they were restrained by something which was cold and felt like it was made by metal. She yanked both of her arms away in an effort to free them, but her attempt was futile- she was stuck. She then decided that opening her eyes to look at her surroundings would be a good idea. She cracked open both eyelids slightly and was immediately met with a severely bright light which made her jam her eyes shut instantly. After a while, Ziva decided to try again. She cautiously opened one eye and let it get used to the intensity of the light. She then repeated the process with the other eye, so she could get a picture of where she was; it was a dark coloured room with matching dark flooring. There was a huge mirror; the biggest Ziva had ever seen which sat in front of her, taking up most of the opposite wall. There was a thick metal table in front of her, which she realised she was handcuffed to. On the other side of the table there was a matching metal chair and by how cold the surface felt that she was sat on the matching one. She also noticed there was a camera which was angled at her with a blinking red light; it was unnerving.

She gulped anxiously and to the best of her ability, began to fidget with her fingers. It seemed like she had been sat there for forever when she heard the turn of a lock and then the silver haired agent who had taken her burst through the door. She jumped slightly and felt she wanted to scream, but she kept her mouth shut, just incase he hurt her again.

"Where's Ari?" He asked her threateningly.

Ziva looked at him with fear in her eyes and sniffed quietly.

The agent sighed "I said, where's Ari!" He yelled loudly.

Ziva shrunk back from the table as far as she could.

He slammed his hands on the table "I know you know where he is you little bitch!"

Ziva blinked at him innocently, her eyes watering but she still didn't say a word.

"Nobody knows you're here" Gibbs leaned over the table and glared at her harshly "That means that I can do whatever I want to you- I can hit you, starve you, shoot you or even kill you. And nobody will give a damn, 'coz nobody knows you exist" He said in an eerily calm tone "Now, I'm gonna leave you with them thoughts, then maybe you will tell me where the bastard who murdered my agent is" he stood up and briskly exited the room.

On the other side of interrogation one Anthony DiNozzo sighed. He regretted telling Gibbs that the young girl had woken up as he saw the waterfall of tears that ran down her face. He had now been working for Gibbs for four years and he was still intimidated by him. Gibbs had recruited him when he was just twenty one years old and right out of college. It had just been when he had lost the chance to be a professional football player due to his knee; He had been hobbling home from a party- he hadn't been drinking as he was still on antibiotics from his knee reconstruction surgery, when he had heard a scream. He had blindly ran towards the cry for help to find a woman pinned against a wall and a knife to her throat. He could see her attacker was trying to unbutton her pants, so he didn't think twice about yanking him away from the woman.

"Hey, pick on someone your own size!" He had taunted the perpetrator.

The man just raised an eyebrow and lunged forward with the knife. Tony grabbed the attacker's hand and they had struggled until Tony managed to relinquish the weapon. Tony had held it to the assailant's throat "You're lucky that I don't have the balls to stab you" he hissed at him and then slammed his head into the pavement several times until he heard a sickening crack and the aggressor was out cold. He had then rushed over to the woman and helped her up from the grubby alley way she had been attacked in.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Tony asked her.

"No. I am fine thanks to you" She smiled at him.

"Do you want me to call anyone for you?" He offered.

"No thanks I can do it myself" The woman had replied.

A few minutes after the call was made, a Government Issue car sped over and braked harshly, just stopping in time so it didn't run the assailant over. It had turned out Tony had just saved an undercover Federal agent from being raped and murdered. He had been taken back to NCIS to take his statement and then to a kind elderly man who worked in autopsy to have his knee checked out. Once he was given the all clear he had been approached by a silver haired man who offered Tony a place on his MCRT. As Tony was only young, could not find a job and had nothing to his name he jumped at the chance. And here he was four years later, considered one of the best agents at NCIS. He occasionally saw Gemma, the agent he saved who still worked at NCIS.

He stared through the glass at the young girl again. Gibbs was being too harsh on her; they had searched the secluded house and then found the room she was being kept in- it had a padlock over the bolt, so they had simply kicked the door down expecting to find weapons or possible plans to future acts of terrorism. But they had found a scared girl who looked slightly younger than Tony who clearly didn't know anything about what Ari's plans were. His boss was just frustrated that they couldn't find any leads to where Ari was hiding, so he was taking it out on Ari's hostage. It was clear she was being kept there against her will- the window had bars over it and the door had been locked from the outside. He decided to take the girl some water and tissues and see if she was okay- it wasn't her fault that she had been Ari's prisoner.

Tony dug a box of tissues out from the cleaning supplies and a cup of water from the break room and then let himself into the interrogation room. Ziva jumped a mile when the door opened again, but it was a different man. He looked younger, kinder and had brought tissues and water.

"Hey it's okay, don't worry" He had smiled at her and set the supplies on the table "My name's Anthony, but people call me Tony. What's yours?" he asked her gently.

"Ziva" She croaked, her throat sore from crying.

"That's a nice name" He smiled kindly "I got you some tissues and water" He gestured to the goods he had left on the table.

"Thank you" She replied quietly.

She tried to reach for a tissue, but the handcuffs prevented her from doing so. Tony grabbed a tissue and handed it to her. She leant her head down so she could dab her eyes.

"D'you want a drink?" He offered.

She shook her head "Ari said not to drink things from people I don't know" she said in a hushed tone.

"Ari's done some pretty bad stuff Ziva, so you shouldn't always listen to him" Tony said carefully, so he didn't upset her again.

Ziva shook her head violently "Ari has done nothing!"

"He killed someone who I work with and he took you away from your family" Tony explained to her.

"No! You are lying!" She said determinedly.

"Ziva, I promise you I'm not lying" Tony said softly, looking into her still scared eyes.

"I know he is innocent, I can prove it to you!"

**I hope you enjoyed the first chapter, sorry it sort of ended abruptly but I thought this would be a good place to leave it. Please review, I would love to hear what you think, and reviews make me write faster! **

**Homework should be eradicated!  
**

**~Lori**


	2. Chapter 2

**Good evening! (Or whatever time of day it is where you are at :) Thank you for all of the reviews/ follows/ favourites- they really make my day! This chapter is probably a bit boring but it gives you some background information about why Ziva was in the cabin. Sorry if it's a bit OOC, but I don't think Ziva would act in character if she's been locked away by her brother. Enjoy the chapter!**

**Disclaimer: My dog ate it...**

"How do you know he is innocent?" Tony asked her.

"He told me that people judge him, just because he is half Israeli and half Arab. But he is just a nice doctor who saves lives every day" She replied.

"He made that up" Tony said gently.

"I know he did not. He would not lie to his sister" she said softly.

"You're his sister?" Tony asked, taken aback.

"Yes. When I was younger my father had a bad temper and he liked to hit me. It got worse after Ari went to study, I could barely breathe properly as my nose had been broken so many times. When he came back he told me to pack a bag, but not tell anyone. That night he took me away from the house and we got a boat to somewhere with Ari's friend. I am not sure where though because Ari gave me some sleeping pills because he said that it was a long way to travel. I woke up in my room at Ari's house. It is nice, no?" Ziva smiled at the memory of her protector.

"Aren't you a bit lonely?" Tony queried.

"No, Ari comes to see me when he brings me breakfast and my evening meal. He said that I have to stay in my room to be safe. He is very thoughtful." Ziva responded.

"What did you do all day?" Tony wondered out loud.

"Ari brings me lots of different work to do in the morning. So far I have learnt many different languages and have a good knowledge of other subjects, he wanted me to be smart so I can get a good job one day. Do you have a brother?" She asked.

"I'm an only child, but I wish I had a brother who was that nice to me" He smiled awkwardly. To him personally he couldn't imagine being locked in a room to study all day- he would have tried to escape at every given chance.

Ziva smiled "Yes, Ari is the best brother ever" Her smile dropped and her lips twisted into a frown "Anthony, where am I?"

"You're at NCIS. We're trying to look for your brother"

"But I told you! He has done nothing wrong" Ziva's eyes watered again.

Tony's phone vibrated in his pocket "Listen, keep calm and I'll be back after I've taken this call okay?"

Ziva nodded as he left the room. Tony checked the text which had been from McGee, asking about his whereabouts, as Gibbs was getting annoyed again. Tony quickly made his way back to his desk in the bullpen.

"DiNozzo! Where ya been?" Gibbs barked at him.

"Interrogation one, boss" Tony rubbed the back of his head, anticipating a head slap.

"Why the hell have you been there?" Gibbs asked incredulously.

"Well I found out a bit about her" Tony shrugged.

"Spit it out then before I slap you so hard that your grandchildren feel it!" Gibbs yelled again.

"Well her name's Ziva. She's Ari's sister and he brought her here because their father beat the crap out of her when she was a kid. He's brain washed her to think that he's a doctor and is frequently discriminated because he's half Israeli and half Arab. He's also kept her locked in the room we found her in the whole time and told her it was for her personal safety" Tony relayed, shaking his head in disgust.

"So she doesn't know anything?" Gibbs asked him.

"No boss, she knows nothing at all. She's just scared, confused and convinced that we're lying about Ari being a terrorist. He's convinced her well boss, I'm not sure how we're going to tell her otherwise" Tony cringed internally.

"Then think of something DiNozzo!" Gibbs replied.

"What?" Tony said with a confused look on his face.

"Well she clearly trusts you, so find a way to gently break the news to her" Gibbs explained.

"Ah! Gotcha boss! I'll go do that then" Tony then disappeared from Gibbs' sight.

Gibbs pulled out his cell phone "Hey Abs, Ari has a sister called Ziva. Can you find as much as you can on her?" he asked her.

"Sure Gibbs!" Abby replied enthusiastically.

A quick goodbye was exchanged and then Gibbs hung up. He really hoped that Tony would be able to win this Ziva girl's trust- otherwise they were going to get nowhere.

Tony made his way back to interrogation again after making a quick stop at the printer. He found Ziva sat in exactly the same position as she was before he had left. Then he realised that she was still handcuffed to the table. He fished out the key that his boss had given him for safe keeping.

"I can unlock you if you promise that you won't try to leave, okay?" Tony explained to her.

She nodded eagerly and he unlocked her restraints. She rubbed her red wrists and examined the damage.

"Sorry about that" Tony apologised "My boss said that you had to stay cuffed. But don't go wandering around 'coz he still thinks you're locked to the table"

Ziva smiled slightly "Thank you Anthony"

"It's no problem. And you can call me Tony, you know" Tony smiled back at her.

"I like Anthony better" She replied.

He grinned at her in acknowledgement "Do you want to ask any more questions about me?" Tony asked him.

"Where is NCIS? I assume it is in America because of the accent" She questioned.

"We're in Washington DC, this is the headquarters" Tony answered.

"I have read about Washington DC. It is very beautiful from the pictures I have seen" Ziva said quietly.

"Yeah it is. I could maybe take you around some of the sights after we've found your brother?" Tony asked.

"That would be lovely" Ziva blushed slightly "But Ari will probably say no, so I will not get my hopes up" She sighed.

"Well you might not be able to live with Ari for much longer" Tony said gently.

"Why not?" Ziva's eyes went wide and her body posture went rigid "Why would I not be able to live with him? I have told you he has done nothing wrong!" Ziva's eyes began to fill up with unshed tears.

Tony slid the pictures that he had printed of Kate's lifeless body onto the table "Your brother killed this woman Caitlin Todd"

Ziva gasped and turned her head away from the gory pictures "Why would someone do that? Ari could not have. Only a truly horrible person could do that!"

"Ziva I'm not making this up I swear!" He took one of her hands gently "Even if your brother is innocent we still need to talk to him, he could have witnessed something"

"I do not know where he is" Ziva sniffed meekly.

Tony rubbed his thumb over the top of her hand "It's okay Ziva. How about I take you for a tour of the building?"

Ziva nodded "Okay"

Meanwhile down in Abby's lab Gibbs was collecting the information she had found "Whatcha got Abs?" He asked.

"Well here it says that Ziva David, half sister to Ari Haswari was killed eight years ago after disappearing when she was nine years old. Apparently her father, the director of Mossad was sent her head in a box. She had been missing for two years when her head was shipped in the overnight express to Mossad headquarters. Her mother Rivka David was killed in a suicide bombing three years after Ziva went missing, and she was seven and a half months pregnant with a baby girl. Ari used to be a Mossad operative until he was sent deep cover as a mole in a Hamas cell. He is now registered as a rouge agent with immediate termination. It looks like we're not the only ones who are looking for him"

"Well we're gonna get him first. Could we do a DNA thingy to see if this is really the Ziva David who is supposedly dead?" Gibbs queried.

"We don't have a DNA profile to match with the mystery girl's DNA, but we could compare Ari's DNA to hers as there would be a partial match because they are half siblings" Abby suggested.

"Do it" Gibbs ordered.

"Uh, Gibbs? I'm gonna need a sample from mystery girl to confirm she's Ari's sister" Abby pointed out.

Almost perfectly timed Tony walked into the room leading Ziva into the lab "And our last stop is Miss Abigail Sciuto's lab. This is where all of the evidence we collect from cases is processed so we can catch the bad guy"

Ziva looked round at all of the different machines "Wow. This looks complicated"

Tony laughed "It is. That's why we have our lovely goth" Tony gestured to Abby, who was stood with her arms crossed.

Ziva waved timidly at the forensic scientist and then shrunk behind Tony when she realised that Gibbs was in the room.

Gibbs saw Tony turn around and whisper to her. She nodded at him and came back to stand next to his side. "D'you need anything Gibbs?" He asked.

"Yeah actually. We need a DNA sample from her" Gibbs pointed to the young woman who's face now looked terrified.

"It's okay Ziva. All you have to do is open your mouth and Abby will do the rest" Tony smiled reassuringly.

Ziva nodded wordlessly and opened her mouth so Abby could take her DNA. Abby swabbed her inner cheek quickly then took out a tray of bottled up chemicals.

"It looks like it's time for us to make tracks then" Tony grinned at Abby and Gibbs "See ya later guys!" He then grabbed Ziva's wrist and led her out of the lab.

"What does making tracks mean? I am not familiar with the saying?" Ziva asked, her face scrunched up in confusion.

Tony laughed at her bewildered face "I'll explain later"

**I hope that you liked the chapter! Reviews are always appreciated and I try to reply to every one I receive, so feel free to leave any questions in a review too!**

**Thank you kindly :)**

**~Lori**


	3. Chapter 3

**Good evening everyone! Yet again thanks for the reviews (I know it's probably annoying that I keep saying thanks for stuff but I'm really grateful!) and in response to the guest reviewer- In this story McGee is older than Tony :) I fell down a set of stairs at school and ended up landing directly on my knee so now it's quite red and looks weird :/ I'll let you read the story now :)**

**Disclaimer: I have a sore knee at the moment but not NCIS :'(**

Ari Haswari had just arrived back at his small log cabin which was hidden in a thick forest. He was pleased to be back- his day had been stressful and speaking with his little sister always cheered him up. He put his key in the lock, so he could get in but found the lock already disabled. He immediately pulled out the gun which was always hidden down the back of his pants. He pushed the creaky door open and surveyed the scene which had been his home. It had been completely trashed; furniture was broken and upturned, all cupboards had been opened and the contents spilled out onto the floor. There was paper everywhere which had been Ziva's school work- some of it torn into shreds. He checked his bedroom and found it in the same state of the living room: his clothes plastered the floor and his mattress had sizeable rips on it. He then moved onto the bathroom which didn't look too bad, but the majority of the contents of his medicine cabinet was now missing. He quickly checked the kitchen to find it matching the tidiness of the rest of the house. He finally strode over to his little sister's room hoping she would be okay.

Ziva was so sweet and innocent and he hadn't wanted to take that away from her. He was given no choice in the matter when he took her from their home- her mother didn't care that Eli would beat her into unconsciousness; he had always cared for her, been her protector. And today his little Ziva would have been petrified.

He examined the door which had a sizeable foot print in the centre and the broken hinges, but despite the damage to the wood, the padlock was still intact. He hadn't wanted to lock Ziva in, but he had been afraid that one day she would go wandering into the woods and get lost. He wouldn't have been able to deal with his baby sister being gone forever- she was the only thing he lived for now. She was the reason he did what he did. Ari swore as he looked into the room and found no Ziva. He double checked inside her en-suite, just to make sure that she hadn't successfully hidden. But he had a feeling that Ziva would be gone as soon as he had found the front door unlocked- she wasn't a trained Hamas operative, she had no idea how to slip away from a situation; she was nineteen years old and had never been in the outside world for ten years. He turned to leave his half sibling's room when he saw blood coating the door frame and he scrunched his hands tightly into a ball. They had hurt his sister; his little sunshine, his world. And they were going to pay. He had no doubt about who had done this to his home, to Ziva.

"NCIS is going to pay" He hissed harshly to himself.

He knew exactly how he was going to find out if she was okay. He picked up a piece of paper and immediately started to scribble his ideas down in Arabic script. A few hours later he had his plan perfected, so he called his fellow cell members and friends: Abdul, Jalil, Maalik and Taheem.

"Ari, what is the problem?" Abdul asked "I thought we were done for the day?"

"We have encountered a problem" Ari said as calmly as he could "NCIS raided our decoy cabin and I believe that they have captured Ziva"

"That is terrible!" Maalik exclaimed "what are we going to do to get her back?"

"I am one step ahead of you- I already have a plan worked out" Ari grinned.

"Am I the only one who thinks that this is a bad idea?" Taheem wondered out loud.

"Yes!" Jalil said incredulously "Eli David might find her and that is signing her death warrant!"

"Jalil is right. They will eventually find out her identity and contact Eli about the joyous event of finding his supposedly dead daughter after all of these years. You do not have to come if you do not want to Taheem" Ari said seriously.

"No, I am in. Ziva is very a sweet girl who is probably scared out of her mind right now. What is the plan?"

"It is fairly simple to execute. But we need to be stealthy and fast- this is not a rescue mission, at least not yet. We still have our last mission to execute and if Ziva is okay, we can leave her there in NCIS' care. If she is injured and unhappy shoot as many as you can before leaving" Ari said coldly "Now here is what we will do…"

Meanwhile, Gibbs' cell phone rang "Gibbs" He answered crisply.

"Hey Gibbs!" Abby greeted happily "DNA is a match. That girl is certainly related to Ari. I can't confirm if she's really Ziva David, but they're definitely half brother and sister"

"Thanks Abs" Gibbs said gruffly.

"No problem! Come see me soon, preferably with a Caf-pow!"

"Will do" and then Gibbs promptly hung up.

Suddenly Gibbs felt cool metal brush against his temple "Call whoever you have to so I can see my sister" An accented voice came from behind him.

After getting the elevator to the upper level, Tony and Ziva walked back to the interrogation room. They re-entered the cold feeling room "I get it now" Ziva smiled slightly at Tony.

"See you're a natural! We'll soon have you using loads of idioms and contractions" Tony said excitedly.

Ziva's face scrunched up in confusion "Why would I want to have a contraction? They are incredibly painful and are only experienced during child birth"

Tony laughed "That's one type of contraction. The other one is where you use it's instead of it is or don't instead of do not"

"I can try, but I am not sure if I will grasp them quite as easily" Ziva chewed on her lip awkwardly.

"Hey, don't worry about it. It was only a suggestion" He rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.

Ziva blushed lightly "You are very kind Anthony"

"Hey it's no problem, you're a pretty cool chick and an interesting friend" He grinned at her.

Ziva's eyes widened "Do you really mean that?"

Tony had a slightly confused look on his face "What do you mean?"

"That I am your friend?"

"Of course! Why would you think otherwise?" He asked.

Ziva's face coloured noticeably "I have never really had a friend before"

"Well, now you do have one. But I do draw the line at letting you paint my nails" He winked and chuckled at his own joke.

"Why would I want to paint your finger nails?" Ziva questioned, her face scrunched up again.

"Well generally when friends stay over at each other's houses, mainly women paint each other's nails. But I think I'll give the pink polish a pass" Tony grinned at her.

Ziva laughed loudly; it was a rich melodious sound which had Tony laughing along with her. They broke off though when Tony cell phone began to ring.

"Hello?" Tony smirked at Ziva who giggled in response.

"DiNozzo? We're gonna need you to come up here in the bullpen- bring Ziva with you"

"Okay, we'll be two minutes" Tony replied and then hung up.

In the bullpen Gibbs' Cell phone snapped shut "Good job Agent Gibbs" Ari said coldly, pressing the gun further into the special agent's temple.

Tony led Ziva up the stairs, as for some reason the elevators seemed to be broken. They reached the bullpen with their arms linked and Ziva laughing. Ziva's mouth dropped open as she saw her brother holding a gun to the elderly agent's temple.

"Ari!" Ziva cried and tried to make her way over to him, but Tony held her back.

"Ziva, no. I'm not sending you to your death" Tony held onto her arms tightly and she squealed in pain.

Ari's gun immediately pointed to Tony after he heard his sister's distress "Let go of my sister!"

Tony immediately let go of Ziva and she ran over to Ari, but was caught by Gibbs and immediately held hostage.

"You put your gun down right now or I swear I'll blow her brains out" Gibbs yelled, pointing his own service weapon to the back of Ziva's head.

"You will not hurt my sister agent Gibbs, otherwise I will take your field agent and kill him. Slowly. How do you feel about electrocution Mr DiNozzo?" Ari spoke in a slow calm voice.

"Ari?" Ziva whimpered, scared.

"I know Ziva, you have never seen this side of me and I am sorry that you had to witness it now" Ari said sadly.

"So, what Anthony told me about the woman was true?" Ziva spoke in a quiet voice.

"If you mean I killed Caitlin, then yes he was telling the truth" Ari answered.

"B-but why?" Ziva's eyes filled with tears.

"It was father's doing. But do not worry as soon it will no longer be a problem. Then I will come and rescue you, okay?"

"I am not going with you?" Ziva asked surprised.

"No, you are not. I just needed to know that you were okay" Ari's voice choked up for a moment "Be good Ziva. And remember the rules. I love you and I will hopefully see you soon"

Ziva managed to break free from Gibbs and she hugged Ari fiercely. Ari raised his gun and fired his gun at Gibbs. He then pushed Ziva onto Tony and they both fell to the floor.

"Goodbye sweetheart!" Ari yelled as he and his fellow cell members disappeared from view.

McGee walked into the bull pen and found Gibbs holding a bloody shoulder and Tony hugging a hysterical Ziva on the floor.

"What did I miss?" McGee asked, a nutter butter in his hand.

**I thought the end bit would be funny as McGee always either walks into a room at an inappropriate time or he 'goes for a nutter butter' what did you think? I hope you enjoyed!**

**My knee thinks reviews might make it feel better!**

**~Lori**


	4. Chapter 4

**Guten tag everyone! I would like to thank reviewers yet again, you are all amazing and thank you for taking the time to give me feedback :) Today marks the day of me winning the challenge of not eating chocolate for a month- it was just me and my sister doing it but to me it's a big acheivement, so I'm in a great mood. To make it even better, it's only 26 days till Christmas! :D So enjoy the chapter everyone!**

**Disclaimer: It's gotten lost within the chocolate bar wrappers ;)**

"You just missed a visit from our favourite terrorist McGee" Gibbs said dryly.

"Boss, your shoulder's bleeding!" McGee pointed out.

"Thanks captain obvious!" Tony called from the floor.

"Ari shot me" Gibbs shrugged with his good shoulder.

"You need to go to a hospital then" McGee advised.

"Well I was heading down to autopsy, but you slowed me down when ya started askin' questions" Gibbs grumbled and set off in the direction of the elevator.

"Sorry boss!" McGee called.

"Rule six" Tony reminded him as he tried to stand himself and Ziva up, but no avail.

"What is rule six?" Ziva asked croakily.

"Never apologise" McGee answered.

"Oh, right" She said meekly.

"Are you okay Ziva?" Tony spoke gently.

"No" She sniffed "A-a-ari lied to me. H-he promised that h-he would take a break from working shifts at the hospital so we could spend more time with each other. That is not going to happen, is it?"

"No it isn't" Tony confirmed and Ziva made a noise which sounded like a dying animal "I'm sorry that you found out your brother was a terrorist"

"I thought you said that you should never apologise?" Ziva sniffed.

Tony smiled at her "Oh, you shouldn't. But in this case, I'm not sure what else to say"

"I know that is was not NCIS's fault. I am sure that it would have happened sooner or later. At least I have made a friend" She rubbed one of her swollen eyes.

"Do you want to sit at my desk?" Tony gestured to the comfortable chair.

She nodded and he helped her up and then guided her over to his chair. She curled up in it and hid her face in her knees. McGee gestured for Tony to come over to his desk.

"What happened?" McGee asked in a hushed whisper.

"She found out that her brother was a gun wielding terrorist who's abandoned her at a federal agency" Tony whispered back, equally as quiet.

"Wow tough break" McGee cringed.

"Ya think McGee!" Tony exclaimed.

Ziva looked up when she heard Tony's outburst. She sniffled quietly and looked around the squad room with her large eyes. Her gaze fell on McGee and she looked at him curiously.

"Ziva, this is my friend McGee" Tony told her and pointed to the computer geek.

"Hello" She said quietly.

"Hey. Do you want some of my nutter butter?" McGee offered.

Ziva shook her head immediately "Thank you but I cannot. It is against the rules"

"Why do you have to follow the rules?" Tony asked her.

"Ari said that I must follow the rules so I stay safe" Ziva replied.

"What are the rules?" McGee butted in.

"McGee!" Tony hissed at him "Don't push her!"

"It is fine" Ziva smiled weakly "There are five rules- Do not leave my room, do not take food from strangers, do not take drinks from strangers, always tell the truth and always do as you are told"

"What happens if you don't follow the rules?" Tony questioned.

"I do not know" Ziva answered "I have never broken them"

It went quiet for a moment until Tony broke the silence.

"Well, on a brighter note how about I take you on the coffee run?" Tony asked.

"What is one of those?" Ziva asked curiously.

"We'll have to show you then" He held his hand out for her to take.

She took hold of Tony's hand and he helped her up from his chair. They walked over to the elevator when Tony turned around and yelled "I'll get you the usual McGee!"

"Thanks!" McGee replied and gave them a thumbs up as they entered the elevator.

Meanwhile, a few levels down Gibbs had just had his shoulder patched up. It had been a through and through; nothing major had been hit. Ducky had tutted and pulled out his medical equipment for the living. Once he had finished he advised Gibbs to have a few hours rest.

Gibbs had simply let out a short bark of laughter and replied with "I can sleep when I'm dead duck" and then headed to Abby's lab to see if she was okay.

As soon as Gibbs had walked through the door Abby launched herself at him. Gibbs returned the enthusiastic hug. When she pulled back she looked at him and noticed the bandage over his shoulder.

"Gibbs! You didn't say you'd been hurt!" Abby exclaimed.

"It's fine Abs. Just a scratch" He reassured her.

"Is Tony and McGee okay too?" Abby asked.

"Yeah, they're both fine. Ari's sister's a bit shaken up, but she's probably going to be okay" Gibbs replied.

"What happened?" Abby asked him.

Gibbs told her what had happened in the squad room and Abby scowled at the mention of Ziva "It's all her fault! If she hadn't been here none of this would have happened!"

"Abby, Ziva's as much as a victim as we were today" Gibbs said reasonably.

"She lived with a terrorist!" Abby spat.

"She didn't know he was until today" Gibbs said calmly "Now, have you found anything else?"

"Yeah I did some more digging and found that there was never a DNA test to confirm that it was Ziva David's head in the box sent to Eli David. Also nobody else ever saw the contents of the box- David claimed that he didn't want anyone to see Ziva looking that degraded, so it is most likely that we have the real Ziva sat upstairs in NCIS. Also, Ari was homeschooled by a Mossad officer until he went to study in the UK so he could become a doctor. It looks like David brainwashed him like Ari brainwashed Ziva Gibbs"

"He did learn from the best" Gibbs muttered angrily.

"I think that Ziva's 'capture' was Ari taking her and her 'death' was staged to avoid the embarrassment for Eli. It was a year when he was battling a rival so he could keep his place as Director of Mossad. He most likely used it to gain sympathy" Abby speculated.

"You're probably right" Gibbs kissed her cheek "Thanks Abs"

He then headed back to the bullpen to check on the others. He frowned when he only saw McGee sat at his desk, his fingers moving at the speed of light.

"Where's Tony and Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"Coffee run" McGee replied.

"D'you think that it was a good idea for Ziva to go with him McGee?" Gibbs said, one eyebrow raised.

"Why wouldn't it be boss?" McGee asked, genuinely confused.

"She hasn't been consciously outside for ten years McGee" Gibbs pointed out.

"Oh yeah boss" McGee gulped "I'm sure she'll be fine with Tony"

"She better be" Gibbs scowled.

"Uh, we still have to figure out where Ari was going. He must be going somewhere abroad, as otherwise I'm sure he would've taken Ziva with him" McGee said thoughtfully.

"You're right McGee, but we need to figure out what he's goin' to do" Gibbs replied pessimistically.

"Well could he maybe be going back to the UK?" McGee suggested.

"Check if there's any big events going on there in the next few weeks" Gibbs ordered.

McGee tapped away, but a few minutes later he shook his head "Nothing boss"

"Damn it" Gibbs growled under his breath.

"Well I do have one other suggestion, boss" McGee said meekly.

"Well? Spit it out then" Gibbs barked impatiently.

"He mentioned it was all his father's fault. I think he might go back to Tel Aviv and try to kill Director David"

"That'd be suicide. He has the whole of Mossad hunting for him, if he even set foot a hundred miles away from Israel, he'd be shot dead" Gibbs pointed out.

McGee sighed "It looks like we're out of options then"

Tony and Ziva stood in the queue at the coffee shop. It had been quite an eventful trip getting to the coffee shop; Ziva had looked out of the window in wonder as they drove past streets full of people and stared in awe of all the different shops. The only minor setback was when a bus turned into a bus stop and she had screamed because she thought it would be blown up for sure if it didn't start moving soon. But luckily Tony managed to calm her down by explaining that bombings weren't a common occurrence in America and she visibly relaxed. The only place she could remember living apart from the small wooden cabin was Tel Aviv, where death due to acts of terror were common.

They looked at the board which displayed the menu of the shop. Ziva looked at it cluelessly "I do not know what I want"

"Well what do you like? Caramel, Chocolate, milk, strong coffee or there's even tea if you want" Tony listed.

"I do like chocolate" Ziva said shyly.

"Well shall we get you a milk chocolate café mocha then?" He asked.

She nodded "Yes please. What are you getting?"

"I'm just getting a latte, the same as McGee. Gibbs just gets plain black coffee" Tony replied.

"How can he drink it without milk or sugar? Black coffee is very bitter" Ziva stated.

"I know, it still confuses me and I've worked with him for five years!" Tony agreed.

Once they had received their order they drove back to the navy yard. Ziva took a small sip out of the cup she had been given. She stayed emotionless for a moment and then smiled at the chocolaty liquid.

"Is it nice?" Tony asked and Ziva nodded in return.

"It is delicious" She grinned.

Tony couldn't help but think that Ziva looked adorable trying her first coffee. She was endearing and beautiful but she was also vulnerable. Tony liked that she trusted him and she liked having him as a friend. He would've loved to take her out on a date, but with everything going on as it was he knew that it wasn't the right time. And also, he didn't to pressure her- considering she had been locked in a room for ten years she might think that she have to do actions of the adult variety on their first date, despite her not wanting to. But when the time was right he knew a lovely restaurant that he could take her to; for now they were just friends.

"How about we watch some TV?" Tony suggested.

"That sounds nice. I have not watched television since I was younger" Ziva smiled slightly at the find memory.

"Uh, that's nice…" Tony trailed off and grabbed the plasma remote to turn on the TV.

It switched right on to a new channel which had a picture of a house and the headline 'Director of Mossad Eli David found dead'. Ziva gasped and Tony quickly changed the channel.

The cup in her hand fell to the floor, which soaked the carpet and Ziva's shoes in rich chocolate coffee.

**So? I'm guessing you already knew what was coming, but how did you like it? I'd love to hear your thoughts in a review or PM! :D**

**Every review gets a free cyber chocolate bar of their choice!**

**~Lori**


	5. Chapter 5

**Greetings readers! I would like to thank everyone who did review- interest has dropped a bit, so if you think there's anything I can do to improve, please tell me! I'm going camping so I thought I'd post earlier as I'm leaving for the woods in about half an hour but it'd be lovely to get some responses for when I get back on Sunday :) I hope everyone's nice and warm, drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows (or the drink of your choice) as I won't be soon!**

**Disclaimer: Ask my sleeping bag, it probably won't reply so that's your answer... :( **

He was dead. Eli David, her father was dead. She couldn't believe that her abuser, her tormentor was dead. She didn't feel upset. No she felt relieved that finally she didn't have to worry about her father taking her away back to Israel again. She could maybe go and live with her mother again; she hadn't seen her in over a decade, but Ziva was sure that her mother would love to see her again. Rivka David had no idea that her husband had been hitting her daughter and step son. He had told Ziva and Ari to stay quiet about it- or they would pay. Ziva had never said anything to anyone, as it hadn't been too bad at first. It had only when Eli was drunk or if something had gone horribly wrong at work. Plus she never got it as bad as Ari; he would be bruised from head to toe whereas she would only sustain a few contusions, sometimes a black eye.

But once her big brother had left to study elsewhere, she was suddenly the only target for Eli. She had rapidly begun to wish that her mother would tell him that they were leaving, take her hand and they would never look back. But that never happened. She suffered through it silently until the night Ari returned with his qualifications to be a doctor. He'd pulled her aside before dinner and told her to pack a bag, but not to tell anyone. They had eaten dinner in an awkward silence and as soon as she was dismissed from the table, she had packed her favourite clothes into the small backpack she possessed. She had kissed her mother goodnight and Ziva made sure she told her mother how much she loved her. Rivka had blinked in surprise at the declaration, but hugged her daughter back tightly. Ziva pecked her father's cheek quickly and then rushed up to bed. She had tried to stay awake, but as she was so young Ziva ended up flat out within an hour. She was woken by Ari, who had scooped her and her bag up, opened the window and he flawlessly jumped out of the window. He landed on the concrete below with almost no sound but a slight grunt of pain. He sprinted out onto the street where his friend Taheem was waiting for them in a truck which sped off immediately after Ari had thrown himself and Ziva into the backseat. A short time later they arrived at a dock that Ziva had never seen before. Ari led her out of the vehicle and gave her some white pills with a bottle of water. He had instructed her to take the white pills so she could sleep- he had told her it was a long way to travel. She had done what she was told to so she swallowed the pills and drank the full bottle of water. As she began to feel dizzy Ari scooped her up and held her gently as she began to drift off to sleep. That was the last thing she saw before she woke up in her new room at the secluded log cabin.

She was snapped back to the present when Tony touched her shoulder. She felt a burning sensation of the hot liquid on her shoes and jumped back from the stained carpet. She noticed the dark mark and gasped "I am so sorry"

Tony shook his head in disbelief "You find out that your father's been murdered and you're sorry that you stained the carpet?"

Ziva looked at him wide eyed and with a shocked expression on her face "You think I called that man my father? He disregarded my safety so he could have a punching bag. He nearly killed me! Ari said that he was still looking for me; he wanted his prized daughter back. Now I am free, I can go back and hug my mother after all of these years"

Tony's face turned from incredulity to sympathy "I-I didn't mean it like that. Of course you shouldn't feel bad, that man was a bastard. I just thought you might feel something other than hate towards him. I don't really get on with my dad but I'd still be upset if he died unexpectedly. I could have a look on the computer to see if I could find your mother if you want?" He asked.

Ziva nodded "That would be nice, thank you Tony"

He looked down at her feet "I think we should get you cleaned up first. Are your feet okay?"

"Yes, they are fine. But I have nothing else to change into" Ziva sighed "What can I do?"

"One sec, I'll be right back" Tony dashed off in the direction of the stair well and five minutes later he returned with a small pair of sweat pants "I had one of the female agents go and find a spare pair of sweats in the changing room for you. Sorry if they're a bit big"

Ziva took the pants from Tony "Thank you. I will go and change"

Once she had returned from changing, Ziva found Tony sat at his computer. "You ready?" he asked her.

"Yes" She smiled "Now I can find my mother again"

Tony looked in the case file involving Ari and then clicked on the sub folder 'Eli David'. He pulled up all known relatives to him and Ziva, Ari and Rivka's names came up. Tony clicked on Rivka David's file and Ziva looked at the screen with bated breath.

The file came up and they scanned through the information until Ziva let out a gasp at what she had found. Tony read the line he saw her fixated on: Target in a suicide bombing, now deceased.

Ziva swiped at the tears that ran down her face. She cried out as if she was in pain when she saw in the additional notes that it mentioned that Rivka had been seven and a half months pregnant with a little girl.

"I-I-I was going to be a big sister" Ziva sniffed.

"It'll be okay Ziva" Tony comforted her.

"But who can I live with now?" She said tearfully.

He rubbed her shoulder gently and her stomach grumbled "How about we go and get something to eat?"

She looked at him uncertainly, tears still staining her face. He smiled at her reassuringly "C'mon Ziva, it'll take your mind off things"

She sniffled quietly "Okay"

Tony clapped his hands "Great then! Let's go to IHOP then"

"What is an IHOP?" Ziva asked.

Tony gasped in mock horror "Miss David we have some introducing to do!"

They arrived at the IHOP and Ziva was amazed. She looked at the menu and couldn't believe her eyes at all of the choices she had to pick from "I could have any of these?" She asked Tony.

"Yeah. I'm getting' the chocolate chip pancakes, they're my favourite" He smiled at her.

She looked at the menu again and then made her decision "Could I get the plain pancakes please?"

"Of course! Are you sure that you want the plain ones though? You could get a bit of fruit on them if you want?" Tony suggested.

"Do you think I should?" Ziva asked, her face anxious.

"If you want to you can, but I'm not here to tell you what to do. I personally think fruit is disgusting, but that's my opinion" He told her.

"I think I will just get the plain ones then please" She said politely.

"Do you want a coke to drink?" Tony offered.

Ziva shook her head instantly "Thank you but I cannot. I am not allowed fizzy drinks as Ari says that they rot your teeth. Could I just have water?"

"Yeah that's fine. I'll just go and order, okay?" She nodded and Tony went over to the counter to order.

Once he had returned they just sat in their booth in silence with Ziva looking out of the window. Tony wanted to make conversation, but he didn't know what to say. Sorry your mother and sister are dead? Sorry we're going to kill your brother? It's not like he could talk about the weather- she had no idea what the conditions had been like. But soon enough their tasty looking pancakes arrived.

Tony immediately started to eat his portion as fast as he could. He sliced the pancakes up into large sections and started to stuff them into his mouth as fast as humanely possible, whereas Ziva cut her first pancake into tiny bites and nibbled on the delicious food like a mouse. She finished half of her first pancake before putting her knife and fork down.

"I am full" She said quietly.

"That'd fine Ziva. You don't have to eat it all if you don't want to" Tony told her.

"Really? Ari said that I always have to eat everything on my plate or he would send me back to father" She sighed "Will I ever see Ari again?"

"I couldn't tell you Ziva" Tony replied "I wish I could"

Ziva nodded in response that she heard him, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, shall I go pay and we'll go back to NCIS?"

She nodded mutely and watched him pay the bill. Once he had finished he gestured for her to catch up with him. She shuffled over to him in her stained shoes and slightly too big sweat pants. She may have looked ridiculous, but Tony thought that she looked cute; he was sure she could wear anything and still look great. They climbed inside of the car and Tony turned the heater on so Ziva wouldn't get cold. They had been driving for less than ten minutes when he looked over to the passenger seat to find he fast asleep, an innocent and gentle look on her face. She looked so much younger and care free when she was asleep. He gently ran his hand through her thick tresses and he smiled as a small giggle escaped from her mouth. He checked to see if she had woken up, but it must have been something from her dream that made her laugh. As he continued to drive back to the navy yard, Ziva still curled up in the car seat Tony knew one thing,

All was okay for now.

**I hope you all enjoyed it! I hope you liked finding out more about Ziva's past and more of that will be scattered throughout the story :)**

**I'm off camping, wish me luck! :D**

**~Lori**


	6. Chapter 6

**Good evening! Sorry this is a bit late- I went over to my friend Conelly's and we ended up playing an intense game of monopoly which ended in tears (him because he didn't win). Thank you for all my reviews; it was a lovely treat to get when I came back from camping :D But Fanfic was being annoying as they wouldn't let me reply, so I aplologise! :/ On the down side for this week I got the flu from camping in the middle of the woods while it was pouring down with rain in the freezing cold weather, so you could say I learnt my lesson ;) Sorry for rambling, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Go ask my bin full of snotty tissues :(**

While Tony and Ziva were out, McGee went to go and pay a visit to Abby in her lab. He held a latte in his hand while she had an extra large Caf-Pow sat on her desk which was half empty. They were sat on stools talking about the current hot topic in the office- Ziva.

"I don't know what happened but when I got back from the break room there was a huge stain on the carpet, Ziva's jeans and a note from Tony saying that they'd be back soon" McGee told Abby.

"Hmmm hinky. Do you think that she's really a Hamas sleeper agent and she's taken him off to a private place to kill him?" Abby questioned.

McGee's eyes widened "What? I don't think she's one of them Abby. She was forced into a room with a lock on the outside and was pretty convinced of her brother's innocence."

"She could be lying" Abby pointed out "They probably taught her from a young age"

"I don't think so Abby. You should have seen the look on her face when we burst into her room" McGee told her.

"Well I don't like her. She's related to Kate's murderer McGee!" Abby exclaimed "And you know what Tony's like! Why do you think they've gone someplace private where she won't need pants, huh?"

"I don't think they've gone to do _that_ Abby" McGee placed his hands on her shoulders and rubbed them gently "Calm down, she's not gonna be here for very long. She'll be gone before you know it" He smiled encouragingly.

"I think I can live with that" She grumbled, a hint of a smile on her lips.

"I'll go get you a chocoholics choice cupcake when I go get some food" he promised.

Abby's face lit up and McGee smiled "Oooh! McGee, you really know how to spoil a woman" She kissed his cheek.

His face blushed a scarlet colour "Well, I best go back upstairs Gibbs is probably wondering where I'm at"

Abby waved "See ya later Timmy!"

"Bye" He waved back awkwardly and took the elevator back upstairs.

He sighed in relief when he got into the elevator. He loved to make Abby smile and he knew that promising her favourite type of cupcake to her would cheer her up. He didn't know why Abby had such a grudge against Ziva- she was merely a victim in her brother and father's game but if Abby wanted him to stay away from her he would.

He walked back into the bullpen to find Tony setting an unconscious Ziva on his chair. Once he'd made sure she wouldn't fall off as soon as he let go. He then pulled a chair from the tiny desk which was opposite Gibbs' work place. He sat there on his chair watching her sleep. It was… extremely creepy and McGee grew concerned.

"What are you doing?" He hissed quietly at Tony.

"I dunno" He shrugged "We don't have a case and there's nothing better to do"

"I don't think watching a terrorist's sister sleep is exactly an authorised job" McGee pointed out.

"Fair enough" Tony agreed.

"What's with Ziva's pants on the floor then?" McGee asked nosily.

"Well if you would like to know, she dropped a coffee cup and it soaked her boots and pants, so I had to get her a new pair" Tony told him.

"Oh right" McGee said dully. It wasn't as good as a story that he had hoped for.

It went quiet and then Tony balled up some paper and threw it at McGee, hitting him square on the forehead.

"Hey!" He exclaimed "What was that for?"

"Well you said staring is creepy, so I decided to do the only other entertaining thing around here" Tony grinned roguishly.

"Throwing things at an older agent?" McGee asked.

"Just think you're lucky that I didn't break out the super glue McStuck"

McGee just shook his head and continued to search for Ari on traffic cameras around the David house.

Meanwhile Gibbs had just exited the café with his usual order of plain black coffee. He sat on a bench close by and admired the night, as it had certainly been an eventful day. He sat looking up at the stars and he wondered how Ari could have kept his own sister locked in a room for ten years. He knew that the bastard wasn't right in the head, but she was his own flesh and blood; he had seemed to genuinely care for her. But then again abandoning your last remaining family member with a group of strangers, one of which who held a gun to her head. He felt guilty now that he had almost killed her where she stood, but in the heat of the moment all he could see was Ari's similar features on her face. He didn't have the real thing but he thought that if he took his anger out on something similar he would feel better- turns out that he now felt like crap and guilty as hell. He had no idea what was going to happen to the poor kid now that they had found her- she had no family, no money and no life experience. He wanted this investigation to end so he could finally avenge Kate's death, but in a way he didn't want it to; the scared girl had no other place to go and would most likely be shipped back to Israel as it didn't sound like Ari had brought her in the legal way. Maybe he could offer her a place to stay while she got her affairs in order, well if she wasn't scarred for life from his interrogation techniques. He should probably recommend that Tony offered her a place to stay- she seemed to trust him for some odd reason. He checked his watch and realised that time had ran away with him. He threw his now empty cup in the bin by the bench and set off back to the navy yard.

When he returned he found McGee working quietly while Tony sat on a tattered chair from the spare cubicle by his desk, throwing paper balls at McGee's head; a large mountain of crumpled up paper sat by McGee's chair. He wondered where Ziva was until he looked over and found her sprawled out in Tony's chair. She looked so young, so innocent while she slept and Gibbs felt slightly sick that she had endured such an ordeal. But he couldn't do anything to change what had happened now. But he could do what he was paid to do- fix things by catching the bad guy.

He settled at his desk without a whisper and checked his email. McGee had ended up teaching him how to open and reply to anything sent to him. And after many re-explanations and several computer monitors later Gibbs had finally mastered how to do it. He clicked on an email with had been sent from McGee. It was some of the video footage from the outside of David's house for him to check.

He languidly watched the footage, which was more boring than divorce settlements in court. After watching for two hours he found nothing so he turned the film off. He looked over to McGee, whose eyelids were drooping from all of the recordings he had been watching.

"Go home McGee, get some rest" Gibbs told him quietly.

The agent didn't waste any time by shutting his computer down and grabbing his bag "Thanks boss" He replied and hurried over to the elevator. By the time he reached his home and climbed into bed, he slipped into unconsciousness before his head hit the pillow.

Gibbs looked over at Tony, who looked like he was playing tetris on his phone "Go home too Tony. It's been a busy day for you"

Tony smiled slightly at Gibbs "Thanks boss, but I think I'll pass. Don't want Ziva waking up and freaking out if I'm gone"

"Why don't you go get some sleep on Abby's futon then?" Gibbs suggested.

Tony shrugged "I don't really want to leave Ziva. I know what it feels like going through a rough stage in your life- mine certainly wasn't nearly as bad as hers is but I know I wanted someone to be there for me. I wish that someone had offered me a shred of sympathy when I blew my knee out but they just tossed me aside. I was replaceable; I want to show Ziva that she's not"

Gibbs raised an eyebrow "That's pretty deep considering you just met her"

Tony smiled "She's just… special. I don't know why but she is"

Gibbs stood up "I'm goin' to head home for a few hours"

"See you later then" Tony replied.

While Gibbs was waiting for the elevator he called over "Hey Tony"

Tony turned to face Gibbs "Yeah boss?"

"You're not replaceable, you know that right?"

Tony's face lit up "Thanks boss!"

Gibbs smiled a rare smile as he stepped into the metal box "Anytime Tony, anytime"

Tony continued to play tetris on his phone for a further twenty minutes until he heard Ziva grumble slightly. He looked over at her and he saw her eyelids begin to flutter open. She sat upright on her chair and arched her back like a graceful feline. She looked around with a slight look of confusion on her face until she found Tony.

He kept a reassuring look on his face "Hey, d'you have a good sleep?"

She rubbed her eyes "Yes thank you. What time is it?"

"It's past ten" Tony replied, glancing at his watch quickly.

Ziva sighed "What is there to do at ten PM at night?"

"Well there is one thing" Tony grinned and turned the plasma on. He typed a few things into his computer and the TV flickered to life. It popped up with the opening credits for despicable me. He pressed play. He positioned his chair parallel from the plasma and then dragged Ziva with her chair over; a squeal of delight could be heard.

"What movie is this?" Ziva asked curiously.

"Despicable me. I thought you might like the minions" Tony smiled.

"What is a minion?" Ziva queried.

Tony draped his arm over the back of the chair "This is what we'll find out"

Ziva watched the screen intently as the animations flashed on the screen. She knew that everything wasn't going to be okay, but sitting there with Tony's company and his arm comfortingly draped over her, it felt like everything was going to be just fine.

**What did you think? :) Sorry about the cheesiness, but I think I have a knack for writing soppy endings (unfortunately). But I had to include despicable me- I absoloutely love the film and even have a minion from universal studios which all my friends keep trying to steal :D I'd love to hear what you think and will try to reply (if I'm able to, sorry about that!)**

**Reviews make the minions happy!**

**~Lori**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello every one! I'm super happy today as it was my last day at school, so the holidays have started! Thanks as usual to my guest reviewers and my other reviewers, you always make me smile. As it's almost Christmas I'd like to wish you all a happy and safe holiday (and enjoy whichever holiday you celebrate) Enjoy everyone!**

**Disclaimer: Ask Santa he might have it for me :D (Don't tell me he isn't real I know he is! :P)**

At six AM sharp Gibbs walked in with his signature black coffee in his hand. Tony and Ziva had watched several movies since despicable me and were now just watching the finishing credits of beauty and the beast. They hadn't noticed Gibbs standing there; he observed them. Ziva looked completely natural sat in the chair next to Tony's, his arm still resting on the back of her chair.

"Why did she kiss the beast then? He kidnapped her and she ends up falling in love with him" Ziva said slightly disgusted.

Tony cringed internally. He maybe shouldn't have shown her a film where a young woman with brown hair is kept against her will "Well it's meant to show that beauty isn't just skin deep" He shrugged.

"Well it is technically bestiality and is it not illegal in France? She would have been put into prison if that had really happened" She pointed out.

Tony burst out laughing "That's brilliant Ziva! What made you think that?"

"I do not know! I just immediately thought that it was quite inappropriate for children" Ziva smirked.

Gibbs picked then to announce his arrival "Mornin' you two"

Ziva squeaked in surprise and Tony responded with a "Mornin' Boss!"

Gibbs beckoned Tony over "Tell her we need to discuss some important work issues in the conference room and you'll be back soon"

Tony nodded "Will do boss"

Gibbs watched Tony walk over to her and place a hand on her shoulder. She nodded mutely and sat picking at her fingernails as he left where she was seated.

"Ready then" Tony told Gibbs and they walked up to the conference room by the director's office.

They sat at the large table "What's wrong boss?" Tony asked, concerned.

"We need to find Ziva a temporary place to stay" Gibbs spoke.

"She can stay with me, it'll be fine" Tony shrugged easily.

"Even though it's not permanent, it'll be for a while. She'll be there until she acquires her documents for either travelling back to Israel or an American citizenship if she's interested" Gibbs warned.

"It'll be fine boss. Well that's if she wants to stay with me" Tony said nonchalantly.

Gibbs smirked "Trust me Tony, she'll want to stay with you"

They exited the conference room and Ziva was still sat in Tony's desk chair, but McGee was now sat next to her showing her something on the plasma. She grinned at McGee as he pointed to the image on the large screen. Tony scowled; he didn't like McGee making her smile.

While Tony stood scowling at the pair below, McGee was pointing at a picture of his sister. "Her name's Sarah. She's the same age as you and I'm sure you'd get on well" He told her.

"She is very pretty" Ziva complimented.

McGee smiled at her. He knew that he had promised himself that he would stay away from her, but when he'd seen her sat by herself curled up in Tony's oversized desk chair looking so small and lonely he couldn't help but talk to her. It turns out that she was polite and seemed nice. He thought that maybe Sarah could come and visit at the weekend so Ziva could make a female friend who was her own age. Plus it might help her act more… immature. She sat with her back perfectly straight and elegance radiated off her- you would think she was an old lady.

"Yeah, she is. Do you think it'd be okay if you went out together at the weekend?" McGee asked her.

Ziva grinned at him "Really? That would be nice, thank you"

"Anytime Ziva. I think that you and Sarah would get along well" McGee looked up and saw Tony scowling angrily "I'll go get some work done, Tony should be back soon"

Ziva nodded and McGee sat back at his desk, fruitlessly looking through more surveillance tapes. Soon enough Tony strutted down the stairs like a peacock and back to Ziva.

"What'd I miss?" He asked.

"Nothing really. McGee was just showing me a picture of his sister, we might be going out at the weekend" Ziva said excitedly.

"Reeealy? I didn't know you had a sister McGee" Tony looked over at computer 'geek'.

"It's none of your business Tony" McGee hissed at Tony.

Gibbs breezed through and stopped the argument in its tracks "Yeah DiNozzo, it's none of your business. Now do your paperwork"

Tony sighed and started filling out the huge stack of paper which was looming on his desk. Ziva was sat in the tiny cubicle by Gibbs' desk with a set of headphones on looking at something on the monitor. She sighed slightly, but didn't say anything.

"I'm just gonna see Abby" Tony said and set off to Abby's lab before Gibbs could protest.

He reached the bubbly Goth with an idea that she probably wasn't going to like, but he could try "Hey Abbs" he grinned.

Abby spun round and grinned "Tony! I haven't seen you for ages"

"It's only been one day" Tony replied.

"Well you were with _her_" She spat like it was a bad taste in her mouth.

"Well that's what I came to talk to you about" Tony said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Do you want to get rid of her and leave no forensic evidence? I can do that!" She said enthusiastically.

Tony's face contorted in horror "What? I didn't come to ask that! I was gonna ask you if you could take her shopping. Anything from the log cabin is gonna be evidence once Ari's dead so she's gonna have nothing left"

"Why can't you do it?" Abby whined.

"Firstly I have to work and I don't think Ziva can sit in the same oversized sweat pants and a grubby top. Secondly, I can't go shopping for girls clothes! I can't go in the underwear section, it's embarrassing" Tony blushed "Plus you can use the unlimited NCIS expense card, already cleared by the director" He winked.

She grabbed the card "Ooh! Gimme!" Abby looked at the card in her hand longingly and sighed "Fine, I'll do it"

Tony grinned "Thanks Abs, I owe ya one"

As Tony walked away she called to him "You really do Tony! And I'll make sure that I'll collect!"

Tony reached the bullpen and he was met with the steely Gibbs glare "Why d'you just take of like that?" Gibbs asked with an eerily calm look on his face.

"I just got Abby to agree to take Ziva out shopping for new clothes" Tony responded.

"How'd you get her to agree to that?" McGee butted in.

"Well, McInterrupter I said she could use the expense card and her face lit up" Tony said with an annoyed tone to his voice.

"That's a good idea DiNozzo" Gibbs said and the two men looked at him shocked.

"Really?" Tony said, his face lighting up.

"Yeah. We can work on the case without restraint if she's out for the day" Gibbs explained to them "Go tell Ziva what's happening and get them to go right away"

"Yes Boss!" Tony nodded and approached Ziva's miniature cubicle.

He put his hand on her shoulder and she turned round and pulled out the headphones she was wearing "Hello" she greeted.

"Hey" Tony acknowledged "I've got some good news"

"What?" Ziva's face lit up.

"Abby's kindly agreed to take you shopping" Tony told her.

Ziva's face wavered "I have never been shopping in America before"

"Don't worry, it's really fun and you'll get some new clothes" Tony encouraged.

"But I do not want any new clothes" Ziva shook her head "I have clothes that Ari bought for me"

"Uh, we can't get your stuff at the moment so these are just emergency clothes" Tony lied quickly- any of her previous possessions would never been seen by her again.

"Okay" Ziva nodded "When are we going?"

"Right now" Tony smiled "Let's go drop you off with Abby"

Ziva waved slightly at McGee as she followed Tony out of the room. When they entered Abby's lab, the goth already had her cape, bag and parasol ready to go. Ziva smiled at Abby shyly, but met with a scowl from the woman.

"Have fun Ziva, I'll see you later" Tony then left the lab and the two women alone.

"Hello" Ziva said to Abby, trying to be friendly.

"Listen here missy. I don't like you, you got that? The only reason I'm taking you out is because Tony asked, so keep quiet and don't even think about mentioning that sick bastard known as your brother's name or I'll leave you in the mall. Okay?" Abby snapped, her cheeks bright red from shouting.

Ziva mutely nodded. She stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do. She didn't want to go shopping with Abby, she wanted to go and sit quietly by Tony's desk even if there was nothing to do. What if she really did leave her in that place called a mall? She saw the goth begin to leave so she shuffled along behind her. They arrived at the parking garage and Abby unlocked a bright red hotrod. They set off to the mall and the tension in the car was almost unbearable. Ziva was sat in the passenger seat and looked out the window quietly, still in awe of the outside world. It was so beautiful and she didn't think she would ever get enough of it.

They pulled up at a monster sized building "We're here" Abby said simply and got out.

Ziva trotted behind her cautiously looking at all the cars parked in the lot. They walked into a simple clothes store and Ziva looked around nervously. There were so many different types of clothes to choose from! How was she supposed to decide?

"What do you want then?" Abby asked her.

Ziva shrugged "I do not know. I have never been clothes shopping before as my mother always did it for me"

Abby's mouth dropped open "Well I can help with that"

She flitted around the store picking up everything Ziva would need; T-shirts, long sleeved tops, trousers, sweatpants, skirts, underwear and the list went on. Ziva felt relieved- the only thing she had to decide was the colour of the item Abby had chosen. She tried some of the items on, just to make sure that they were the right size and then they went to pay.

Ziva looked in wonder at the price of it all "That is a lot of money"

Abby held out the navy blue coloured card "That's what we've got this for. It's an expense card so it's unlimited"

They left the shop carrying three bags each "Let's get you some new shoes then" Abby guided her into a different shop. They didn't spend long finding her some new boots, a pair of trainers and a pair of flat pumps. Abby saw a pair of hot pink platforms displayed and snuck them onto the pile.

"This is our little secret okay?" Abby whispered to her and Ziva nodded immediately.

Once they had finished shoe shopping, Abby had sat Ziva on a bench with their bags and hurried into a dark looking shop. She emerged twenty minutes later with a bag.

"Like last time, we're not going to tell anyone about this" Abby told her "Now c'mon let's get you back to Tony"

Half an hour later Ziva was sat at the petit desk with shopping bags littering the floor around her. She had changed into a pair of blue jeans and a baggy cream sweater, discarding the previous mismatched outfit she had been wearing.

Tony looked over at Ziva. She was sat staring into space and he knew it would be a good time to ask her about living arrangements.

"Hey Ziva" Tony smiled at her.

"Hi Anthony" She replied, returning his smile.

"Did you enjoy shopping?" He asked.

"Sort of. There was a lot of people and I do not think Abby likes me" Ziva said indifferently.

"I'm sure she likes you" Tony reassured.

"Well saying 'I do not like you' to me gave it away" Ziva shrugged "But it does not matter"

"I'm sure that you'll grow on her" He comforted "I need to talk to you about something"

"Okay. Slice" Ziva nodded.

"I think you mean shoot" He laughed "But it's about where you're going to stay until this mess is sorted out"

Ziva's gut clenched "Who did you have in mind?"

"Well we were thinking you could stay in my spare room if you wanted?" Tony offered.

Ziva nodded "That would be nice thank you"

Tony grinned "Great! Gibbs said we could go early to get your stuff unpacked, so let's go!"

Tony led Ziva down to his car and they jammed all of the carrier bags into the back of his car "How much did you end up getting?"

Ziva shrugged "I am not actually sure. Abby just kept throwing stuff in"

It took them fifteen minutes to get back to Tony's apartment. It was a smallish size with two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. They hung all of Ziva's new clothes in the wardrobe in what was now Ziva's room. Tony ended up ordering a pizza for dinner due to lack of ingredients in his cupboards- they were either non-existent or out of date.

Ziva's first reaction to the pizza was priceless. She had looked at it strangely, taking a tentative bite out of it. Once she had taken another, slightly bigger bite she realised how nice the cheesy pizza was. Now, she sat on one side of the couch, curled up and chewing on her pizza and Tony sat at the other end, watching the movie that was on intently. It wasn't the biggest place in the world, but for now it was home.

**I hope you liked it! I got the beauty and the beast idea from one of my younger cousins when she blurted out 'Ewww! no one wants to kiss a dog like that!' at the end of the film. Reviews are always appreciated.**

**Is there any children's film you've re-watched and thought about how inappropriate it is?**

**~Lori**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again readers! Thank you for the amazing reviews, I hope you are enjoying your holidays and haven't been doing too much hard work! I'm having a lovely time as a few of my cousins who I haven't seen for a while came to visit. But I'm sure you just want to read the story, so I'll get on with it :)**

**Disclaimer: It didn't come for christmas, so maybe for my birthday? :D**

**P.S. A bit of a time jump to speed things up- enjoy!**

_3 months later_

Ziva was settled onto living a normal life. She was still at Tony's, but they had found a routine- If he was going to be at work late, she would cook dinner for him and leave it covered over so he could warm it up. But on the off chance he would get in at a semi-decent time he would either pick up take out or cook something simple. It turned out that Ziva was a very good cook and had mastered complicated dishes on her first try, whereas Tony… well, Tony could probably burn cereal if he tried. There had still been no sign of Ari, who was now the top priority for Mossad and second on NCIS' most wanted wall- only Bin Laden topped him. But the MCRT ended up being forced to leave the Ari case behind and focus on more pressing matters- there had been one serial killer, three missing children, twenty five murders and two break-ins which had all been successfully solved. But any spare time they had was spent dedicated to finding Ari. They knew Mossad wouldn't rest until the son of a bitch was dead, so why should NCIS.

While the NCIS team had been battling on, Ziva had been thriving. She and Sarah now met either once a week or once a fortnight depending on how busy the pair of them were. They had got on as soon as they had met each other.

_Flash back_

McGee led Ziva to a small Café where a young looking woman was sat. She has dark curly hair and brown eyes that were similar to Ziva's and a warm smile on her face.

"Hey I'm Sarah" The woman had smiled.

"I am Ziva" Ziva had shyly smiled back, hoping that she wouldn't snap like Abby did. She hadn't wanted to leave Tony's apartment, but he convinced her that she needed other friends too- not just him.

"It's nice to meet you!" Sarah said happily "I was just about to get a coffee, what do you want?"

Ziva smiled "Could I have a small hot chocolate please?"

"Sure! Tim, go get us drinks while we talk" Sarah ordered her big brother.

"But…" McGee trailed off when he saw his sister's glare and he trailed off and wandered over to the cashier, grumbling about how he was 'going to tell mom'.

Since then they had met up to catch up and sometimes just talk about random things. Once Ziva confided in her friend, Sarah hadn't pitied her or treated her any differently after she learned what had happened- she admired the strength that her new found buddy possessed. Plus since then Sarah had been determined to show Ziva a few things that teenagers liked to do; they had had a sleepover at Sarah's with some of the girls that Sarah went to college with. They had thrown water balloons at McGee and wrapped Tony's precious car with gift paper and kept it secure with duct tape. Ziva had learned how to be childish again; she had learnt how to live.

Now she was attending Georgetown University studying childcare and teaching- she had always wanted to work with children and now she had the opportunity to. Plus she had a part time job- working as barista in a coffee shop down the road from NCIS so she could help with the rent and food bills. Tony had told her it wasn't needed, but Ziva had been adamant that she was going to help him out, even if it wasn't much. She was also working towards taking her citizenship exam- she had decided that she wanted to stay in America as there was nothing left for her in Israel, apart from several tombstones. Tony had been helping her study the history of America- he had informed her on his days as a poo boy at civil war re-enactments which had entertained her to no end. She was getting quite good at learning the key dates and facts that would most likely come up on the test; Tony had treated her to dinner when she had gotten all the answers correct on 'professor' DiNozzo's history exam. It had been simple, elegant and intimate- a perfect reward for doing well.

Tony and Ziva's relationship hadn't progressed any further when it came to romance- but they'd become closer as friends. If Tony had time off they would visit the movie theatre every few weeks and they would sometimes just sit and talk about things; sometimes what they would like to happen and at times the past. One weekend they had decorated Tony's bland spare room; they had painted the walls a pale lilac and moved the furniture around to Ziva's taste. Ziva had found a matching bed set and purple lamp when she had been shopping with Sarah which completed her room. Ziva had been happy the way it was until one day Tony had surprised her with a purple rug. She had squealed loudly and given him a huge hug, which had caused him to blush.

Ziva was now just exiting her teaching class as she was done for the day. She was walking out with a few of her newly made friends- Lisa, Alisha, Ethan, Tom and Nell. They didn't know her like Sarah or the NCIS squad did and she never intends to tell them what life was like as a child under her father's reign or a teenager with Ari in control. They thought that was an orphan who used to live in Israel as a child, and now lived with a roommate who worked in law enforcement. But that's all they knew about her, apart from she had been relatively shy when she started the course. She laughed at one of the girl's jokes and continued to drag her heavy bag, filled to the brim with textbooks and work. The group heard the 'beep' of a car horn. They looked around and saw a man with a wide smile.

Ziva waved enthusiastically at the mystery man "Hey Anthony!" She called.

"Hey!" He waved back "Got somethin' to tell you!"

"I will see you later" She told them and climbed into Tony's car.

"So that's the Anthony then?" Ethan wondered.

"Yep" Tom smirked and looked Tony up and down "You don't have a chance compared to him"

Ziva looked over at Tony as he started to drive "What is the news?" she asked him.

"I'll tell you when we get back to NCIS" Tony replied.

It was silent until they had reached the squad room and Tony sat her down on his chair.

"Now, this is going to be some upsetting news" Tony explained gently.

"Is Ari dead?" Ziva queried.

"How'd you know?" Tony said, puzzled.

"The only upsetting news for me would be either you telling me that I can no longer stay at your apartment or that my brother has been killed" Ziva sighed.

"Are you okay Zi?" Tony put his arm around her shoulder in a side hug.

"It is over" Ziva sniffed "It is finally over"

Before she could comprehend what had happened Ziva's eyes filled with tears and she was sobbing loudly. Tony pulled her into his chest and rubbed her back soothingly.

"Shhh Ziva. It's gonna be okay, I promise" He muttered to her over and over, still rubbing her back, trying to calm her down.

After awhile Ziva pulled back slightly "Look at me. I am a mess"

Tony scoffed "You look fine"

"I did not think I would cry that much, I honestly thought I had prepared myself. I knew he was going to die" Ziva snuffled.

"He was your brother and you loved him a lot, so I don't blame you for crying. If I had a brother, even one who didn't even care for me half as much as your brother did for you I would be upset" Tony comforted.

"Really?" Ziva said, her puffy eyes wide.

"Really" Tony confirmed.

Ziva pulled Tony in for a quick hug "Thank you Anthony. You are the best"

"No problems" Tony grinned charmingly "It's what I'm here for"

Ziva stayed at NCIS, sat at the baby sized desk, doing her homework while Tony finished his tedious paperwork. Once Tony had finished he took Ziva's bag, with a slight grunt of surprise when he felt the weight of it. They drove back to his apartment and while Ziva sat on the sofa quietly Tony rummaged through the cupboards, which only seemed to have dust bunnies and air inside.

"We've got some bread and cheese. D'you want some cheese on toast?" Tony called to her.

"Okay" Ziva croaked.

Tony busied himself making their dinner while Ziva remained curled up on the plush two seater. She had no reason why she felt like this- she just wanted to go to sleep for a month and wake up when everything was over. She realised that she would have to arrange Ari's funeral. Well, if they would release his body. She felt slightly guilty that she wanted them to keep it- She didn't think she could handle seeing her brother again.

She was startled back into reality when Tony set down a plate of slightly burnt toast with gooey cheese melted on it.

"Sorry it's a bit burnt" Tony apologised.

"It looks delicious" Ziva assured.

"Well it is better than my last attempt" Tony pointed out.

Ziva laughed as she remembered the batch from the time before: It looked like it had been incinerated.

They continued to eat in silence until every last crumb had vanished. Tony took both of their plates to the kitchen, dumped them in the sink and then sat back down next to Ziva with a plop.

"D'you wanna watch a movie?" He asked her.

She nodded "Can we watch the monster one again?"

"Sure" Tony smiled gently at her and went to put the monsters inc disk in the DVD player.

As they sat and watched it, Ziva's eyelids began to droop. Before the movie was even half way through she was in a deep slumber, snoring louder than a steam train. Tony paused the film and gently picked Ziva up. Ever so slightly she stirred, but she simply wriggled a little and continued to challenge Tony's eardrums with the deep vibrations coming from her mouth.

He tucked her into her bed gently and then brushed a stray hair away from her face. He rubbed her cheek tenderly and muttered "Everything's gonna be fine Zi, you've always got me to talk to"

He then turned off the TV, made sure the door was locked and got into bed himself. Everything was going to be fine, he repeated mentally. But there was a feeling in his gut that something was going to go terribly wrong.

**So, what did you think? It would be a lovely present if you left me a review. I absolutely loved the reviews about Disney films :D Thanks for reading!**

**What do you think anything is going to go wrong? And if so,what? **

**~Lori**


	9. Chapter 9

**Happy new year everyone! I tried to get this up for the 1st but I then remembered I had one last bit of homework to do- a comparative essay -_- But I re-read your reviews and they really cheered me up :) I love to hear your theories and what you think will happen. Thank you to my guest reviewers, as I can't reply to your reviews via PM.**

**Disclaimer: It may be a new year, but the same disclaimer applies :(**

The next day Ziva woke up feeling much better. She got a shower, changed into some suitable clothes and headed right out of the house as she knew for a fact there would be no food and no Tony in the house- Tony always headed out to work before she was awake and she had promised to go food shopping when she had her lunch break between child care and teaching classes. She had intended to go last night, but Tony had been waiting for her unexpectedly and she had forgotten.

She arrived at her class five minutes early and went to sit with Alisha and Lisa who also took childcare. They chatted idly for the few minutes until spare until the teacher cleared her throat to signal that class had begun.

Two and a half hours later they walked out of the classroom, yet again weighed down by books. They met up with the rest of their 'gang' of friends and then wandered over to the picnic area by the parking lot. They were half way through lunch when an expensive looking car pulled up and a red head with impossibly long hair stepped out wearing a sharp black suit and green silk blouse.

She scanned the complex and then her eyes lit up in recognition. She walked over to where the group of young adults. They looked at the woman with clear authority nervously. They were then confused when the red head broke into a grin.

"Ziva! It's been so long" She smiled at the puzzled brunette.

"Who are you?" Ziva asked.

"Don't you remember me? I worked with your father on several occasions, I'm Jenny Shepard" Jenny told her.

Ziva's face lit up in recognition "Jenny! I do remember you! You just didn't look so… official back then"

"Well I am the new director of NCIS" Jenny said, blushing slightly.

"Really? That is great!" Ziva smiled widely.

"D'you mind if I cut in and take Ziva for a bit?" Jenny asked the others kindly.

"Yeah that's fine!" Alisha grinned "Have fun Ziva"

Jenny gave Ziva a hand up from where she had been sat and then they climbed into the plush car and sped off from the college.

"Wow, Ziva's more popular than she realised!" Lisa exclaimed.

Ethan's face dropped "D'you think that'll mean that Ziva won't want to go to dinner with me then?"

"Of course not!" Lisa reassured him "I'm sure that Ziva would love to go to dinner with you"

Ethan grinned "I'll ask her once she gets back then!"

Jenny and pulled up at an expensive looking café and Jenny parked the car flawlessly. They got out and entered the upscale building and got a table for two by the window. A waiter came and took their drinks order and while they waited they caught up on each other's lives.

"How did you end up as director of NCIS then?" Ziva asked astonished "I remember you telling me that it was your worst nightmare"

_Flashback_

A twenty five year old Jenifer Sheppard was sat with a young eight year old Ziva David, colouring in an elephant from the child's book. The redhead had offered to look after them when Eli had told her that he and his wife were going out to an important ball and the babysitter had cancelled that morning. So now here she was sat with the sweet, curly haired child. The older boy, Ari she remembered him being called was still studying abroad; Eli told her of how proud that his son made him. Ziva hadn't spoken much to her, but when she asked if she could join in Ziva pulled the sheet of paper containing the elephant and left the basic crayons on the table for them to share.

"Do you like elephants Ziva?" Jenny had asked kindly.

Ziva nodded "I was saving the elephant until last as it was my favourite, but you are the visitor so you may colour it in"

Jenny smiled softly "Thank you Ziva, you are such a kind little girl"

Ziva blushed "Thank you"

The brunette reached for another crayon and the sleeve of her shirt rose slightly. Jenny gasped "Ziva, who did that to you?"

"My father" She mumbled. Then her eyes went wide with horror "But only when I am naughty!" She justified.

Jenny simply nodded, not believing the child one bit.

"My father would never hurt me, he is a good man. You know that because you work with him, do you not?" Ziva asked Jenny.

"Yes I do Ziva, and I know that he is a wonderful father raising such a polite girl" Jenny went along with the lie, knowing what Eli David was truly capable of.

"Are you going to be a director in America too? Like papa is?" Ziva questioned again.

Jenny laughed "No I'm not Ziva. To me that would be my worst nightmare as I'm no good at deciding what to wear in the morning, let alone decide the fate of an agency! To be a director it takes a special kind of person who is cut out for the task at hand and I am not that type"

Jenny smiled at Ziva "I know I said that before, but I changed"

"Changed how?" Ziva enquired.

"Well I met someone. Fell in love. Ended up heartbroken. It made me realise that I really could be that type of person, that I could organise operations and have thousands of people under my care. I just needed to believe in myself" She smiled slightly "I would ask you what's new, but I've read the report on what happened shortly after I left Israel"

"Ari only did it to protect me. I probably would be dead if it was not for him" Ziva defended her now deceased brother.

"I know I'm glad he did. I wish I could have done it. If I could've I would've smuggled you back to America in my hand luggage" Jenny told her.

"It would have been lovely if you had, but I know you would have been caught and most definitely executed. But I am glad that we have met again more permanently" Ziva smiled widely "I have missed you"

"I'm glad we got to meet again too" Jenny returned the wide smile "But how come you missed me? I only looked after you for one night and then I left you with that monster who called himself your father" the woman hissed with a fiery passion.

"You gave me attention and you just treat me like a human being, something which no one but Ari did. You showed me that I was actually worth something" Ziva said softly.

Jenny sniffed slightly, her eyes barely tearing up "Now what are you studying? It only mentioned that you now studied at Georgetown university"

"I am studying childcare and teaching" Ziva said excitedly "I want to teach children in the first year"

"That sounds lovely Ziva. You have always been kind so I'm sure the children will love you" Jenny complimented "Now where have you been staying? Somewhere nice I hope"

"I am staying with a NCIS special agent called Anthony DiNozzo. His apartment is very nice, he even let me paint my room purple"

Jenny frowned "I've heard of him. They say that he's the biggest player in Washington"

"What does he play then? He has never told me" Ziva's face scrunched up.

Jenny chuckled "He plays women. He'll charm them, sleep with them and then pretend that they never existed"

Ziva shook her head "No. That cannot be Anthony, he is so sweet and nice and kind. You must have the wrong man"

"I might have Ziva, so the only person you can ask is Tony" Jenny said, trying to avoid an argument.

"You are right. I will ask him when he gets in from work" Ziva decided.

Once they had received and drunk their drinks, they realised that there was only ten minutes before Ziva's teaching class begun, so Jenny sped back to the college campus. They had quickly said goodbye and Ziva hurried into the room where the class was held. She slipped into her seat just before the teacher wrote the theme of that day's lesson and the class begun.

Once it had finished Ziva and her group of friends exited the room, all walking at a snail's pace. Ethan twiddled his thumbs nervously until he plucked up the courage to say "Ziva can I speak to you over there?"

"Okay" Ziva replied, confused.

They stood by a shady willow tree "What is it?" Ziva asked.

"Well, I was just wondering if you know… If you would like to, uh, umm go-on-a-date-with-me" He rushed the words out fast.

Ziva was taken aback- that was the last thing she expected "I will have to think about it Ethan, as that was a very big… surprise to say the least"

"Okay" Ethan said disappointedly.

"I will have to go, I need to go to the grocery store before I go home and it is a long walk!" Ziva smiled at him before hurrying away.

Ziva hurried off away from Ethan and had one goal set in mind- the grocery store. She didn't want to think about what Ethan had just asked her, so she decided she was get some advice from Tony. Surely he had women asking him out all the time, so he must be an expert at saying no.

She arrived at the store half an hour later and made her way speedily through the aisles. She picked up everything on her list and some oreos- they had not been written down, but Tony loved them so she thought she would get a pack. Plus she had never tasted them so she was now curious to why he liked them so much. She paid for the food and then trudged back to Tony's apartment. After doing her homework, she decided to make a start on dinner. She was quite tired and couldn't be bothered to make anything too fancy, so she settled for pasta.

She was just pulling the tray out of the oven when Tony walked through the door "Hey! I'm back" He yelled.

"In here!" Ziva called back "You are just in time for dinner"

Tony bounced into the kitchen, his mouth fixed in a dazzling smile "What're we having?"

"Just pasta" Ziva shrugged "I am fairly tired and did not want to make anything too complicated"

"It smells amazing" Tony grinned.

Tony set the table while Ziva dished out the delicious food onto their plates. They ate in silence until Ziva decided to ask Tony about the whole Ethan situation.

"Anthony, can I ask you something?" Ziva enquired.

Tony smiled warmly "You can ask me anything"

Ziva looked at him anxiously "A friend of mine called Ethan asked me on a date. What should I do?"

**What did you think? Do you like that Jenny's joining the story? And what about Ethan? Tell me in a review!**

**Save paper, ban homework! :D**

**~Lori**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone! I've been blown away at the amount of reviews I received for the last chapter, so thank you! :D It's been horrible weather in the UK and I swear my hair is going to stay as a frizzy ponytail for life if the rain doesn't stop. But on the bright side NCIS season 11 starts tonight! I'm really excited :D**

**Disclaimer: It must have gotten stuck in the bird-nest of hair on my head... **

Tony exhaled quietly. How was he supposed to answer that? An extremely beautiful woman who he himself would be interested in dating sometime in the future just asked him on advice about men. He was fairly angry at this Ethan guy who barely knows her and thinks he can just ask her out like it was nothing. He hadn't found her locked in a room, petrified of the NCIS team. He hadn't comforted her after Gibbs scared the crap out of her, or when her brother died. He didn't introduce her to coffee or pancakes or being able to go outside without an inquisition. To Tony he sounded like bad news. But he knew that he shouldn't dictate Ziva's life, just because he was slightly jealous. He wasn't going to be like her father or her brother- he was going to help her make the right decision for herself and nobody else.

"What do you think of him?" Tony questioned.

Ziva shrugged "He is… okay. A nice person but a bit awkward"

In his head Tony cheered. One point for team DiNozzo "Do you think he's attractive?"

Ziva shrugged again "In a way he is, but I do not like him like that"

Two nil to the Italians "Well how about instead of going on a date, go out for dinner as friends. That way you find out more about him and you get a nice meal that you don't have to cook" Tony suggested.

Ziva's eyes lit up "That is a great idea!"

"I'm not completely perfect at _everything _but my advice is always the best" He gloated.

Ziva laughed "Well seeming as you are so perfect in every way, what are you not so good at then?"

"Cooking food properly" They both laughed at his comment "It's either undercooked or burnt to a crisp! Teach me your ways master!" Tony kneeled down and mock worshiped her.

Ziva stroked the top of his head like a dog jokingly "If you are good, I will teach you when you are off for a weekend"

Tony rose back up to standing height and pumped his fist into the air "Yeah! Wait what does being good consist of then?"

"Picking up your underwear and socks, cleaning the dishes, placing the toilet seat down" Ziva listed.

"Awww c'mon! that's a lot of stuff to remember! I'm a NCIS special agent who puts his life on the line every day! I could possibly die, so what's the point of worrying over socks?" Tony pouted. "Speaking of NCIS it has a new director"

"Jenny Sheppard?" Ziva asked.

Tony's face wore a puzzled expression "Yeah, How'd you know?"

"Jenny worked with my father a few times before I… moved. She came to see me at lunch today" Ziva told him.

"That sounds nice Ms popular" Tony joked.

"I did not even realise that it was her until she told me her name. She looked so different when she was younger" Ziva recounted.

"See, you've got tons of friends and you didn't even know it" Tony grinned "I think I'm a little jealous"

Ziva blushed slightly and then let out a big yawn "I think I will go to bed now. I am quite tired"

"Well goodnight miss well-liked" He winked.

"Goodnight Mr perfect" Ziva shot back teasingly before disappearing down the hall.

Tony shook his head. That girl surely was special, more special than she would ever know.

The day after Ziva sat by the willow tree which was by her university. Her and friends always met by there before heading off to their separate classes if they had time. She enjoyed the serenity of the quiet place when no one was there, but she also enjoyed the loudness of the place when her friends came to sit under the elegant draping branches. She didn't have to wait long until someone came to join her.

"Hey Ziva" Ethan said softly.

"Hello" She greeted.

"Did you think about it then?" He asked her.

"Yes I did. And I do not want to go on a date with you, but we could get dinner as friends if you wanted?" She smiled at him.

"Yeah, that'd be fine. Sorry I didn't know you had a boyfriend" He cringed slightly.

Ziva looked perplexed "I do not have a boyfriend?"

"Oh, I thought you were maybe dating your roommate Tony" Ethan shrugged "But I thought I'd still ask you, just incase you were single"

"I am single, but I do not see you in that way" Ziva smiled softly at him.

"When do you want to go for dinner then?" He asked her.

"I do not mind. We could go tomorrow if you wanted?" She suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds good. I'll pick you up at seven thirty okay?" He proposed.

Ziva nodded "Now we better set off for class. It starts in five minutes"

And with that they separated; her to childcare and him to geography.

Meanwhile at NCIS Tony had just had a phone call from the Director's assistant Cynthia telling him that she wanted to see him. He wasn't sure what he had done, because normally he didn't get into trouble for spitballing McGee but there was nothing else he could think of that would get him called to the Director's office on her second day. He knocked on the door cautiously.

"Come in Agent DiNozzo" He heard Jenny call from the other side of the door.

He opened the door carefully and came to stand in front of the Director's desk. "Please sit down Agent DiNozzo" Jenny offered.

"Please, call me Tony" He said as he sat down.

"I have a few questions to ask you then, Tony" Jenny smiled at him warmly.

"If it's about the vending machine in the break room then I swear it's not me" Tony gushed quickly.

Jenny laughed "It's not about that, but I might just have to look into that now. Let's just say I have a few… odd jobs that I needed doing. Just a few bits and pieces here and there. Nothing too strenuous, no deep covers needed and good pay. But it has to be kept quiet- just between you and me. What would you think?"

Tony's mind raced. He didn't exactly know what to do- he wanted to impress the director, be in her good books and it wasn't anything serious that was going to affect his life as Anthony DiNozzo. Plus the extra pay would do him good. He was going to suggest driving lessons to Ziva, but they could be expensive. But if he had the extra money he would be able to cover them and the cost of a car for her no problem. Plus it wasn't like he needed to babysit Ziva every night; she was adept to cooking herself something and she knew how to use the DVD player after a fairly challenging day of trying to show her what to do. This was a good opportunity for him and it could even get him a promotion in a few years time- he knew he was still far too young to attempt anything more difficult in his job right now. He was still learning and still gaining experience thanks to Gibbs. But he was worried if people started asking questions. It would be easy to hide from Ziva as she didn't work with him, so he could just say he's working late or might not get back for a few days. But with Gibbs and McGee it would be a lot harder- they were trained investigators who wouldn't give up if they caught wind of what Tony would be doing. Tony weighed the options up in his head and he knew exactly what he should do.

"I'll do it" He told Jenny.

"Thank you Tony. I'll call you up here when I need you. And remember, no telling anyone. Not even Ziva" She warned sternly.

Tony nodded his head "I'll see you later Director"

"You can call me Jenny" She smiled.

Tony nodded again and left the office to return to the bullpen.

The rest of the day went quietly for Tony. There was just paperwork for him to do, so Gibbs let them go when it was five PM. That night he cooked a slightly charred pasta bake for Ziva who insisted that it tasted fine, burnt bits and all. They watched another film (tangled which Tony had bought as a surprise thinking that Ziva would like it) and then went their separate ways to their separate rooms.

Ziva was sprawled out on the couch when the knock on the door came. "I will get it!" she yelled to Tony who was in his bedroom.

She heard a muffled "Okay!" in response as she headed to the entrance of the apartment.

She unlocked the door and saw Ethan stood on the other side. "Hello" She smiled.

"Hey, you look great" Ethan complimented.

"Thank you, but I am only wearing what I had earlier" Ziva shrugged.

"You still look great though" He grinned at her.

"One moment" She told the boy and ran back into the apartment "Tony, I am leaving!"

"Take my cell incase you need anything. If you do you can just call the landline" Tony called back "Enjoy!"

"Thank you!" Ziva replied. She then turned to Ethan "Shall we go then?"

"Yeah, I've found a really nice place to get dinner at" Ethan told her as they walked to his car.

They arrived at the restaurant after an awkwardly silent car journey. They were now sat eating their choice of food for the night- pizza for Ethan, lasagne for Ziva.

"D'you want a bit of mine?" Ethan offered, holding out his fork with a piece of gooey pizza on it.

Ziva shook her head quickly "No thank you I am okay with this"

Ethan sighed quietly "I thought you'd maybe see me differently after we'd been out a just friends"

Ziva shook her head again "I do not, but I do know that Elise from my childcare class would love to do something with you"

Ethan's face lit up "Really?"

"Yes really" Ziva confirmed.

"I'll ask her tomorrow" He decided.

Once they had finished and Ethan a dutifully paid the bill, insisting that Ziva didn't need to waste her money, they exited the establishment. They were nearly at the car when Ethan grabbed her hand.

"Ethan, what are you-" Ziva was cut off by Ethan pulling her to him and crashing his lips against hers.

She pushed him away as hard as she could and took a large step away from him. He tried to lunge forward again but Ziva backed away, yet again.

"What are you doing?" She yelled at him.

"I don't want to be with Elise, I want to be with you Ziva. If you could only see how good I am! I could make you see, but you don't want to!" He screamed at her, his eyes glassy.

"Stay away from me" Ziva hissed.

She looked around for anyway to escape, but there was none. She decided that the best option would be to call Tony, he would know what to do. She noticed that there was a shop behind her though, where she could hide while she called Tony. She looked at the deranged man who was slowly edging his way forward. She didn't hesitate to run straight into the shop that stood a few metres away.

Ziva pulled out Tony's cell phone and found 'home' in the contacts list. It rang a few times before the call was picked up.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Tony asked, forgoing greetings.

"Anthony" Ziva gasped "I need your help"

"Where are you?" His tone serious.

"The small shop by the park. You know the one that has nice gum" Ziva relayed.

"I'll be there soon" Tony promised and then the line went dead.

"You okay?" The cashier enquired.

Ziva gave her a weak smile "I will be"

"Anything I can do?" The woman asked gently.

Ziva shook her head "Thank you for the offer but no"

Barely five minutes later Tony's car pulled up in front of the shop. He raced in and scooped Ziva up into his arms. She couldn't help but let the tears that she had been holding back fall now that she knew she was safe.

"Shhh it's okay Ziva. I'm here, nothing can hurt you now." Tony whispered into her hair.

They stood there with Ziva still sobbing and Tony whispering comforting words into her ear. But it was okay. She was safe. Nobody was going to hurt her while she was encased in Tony's arms.

**Didn't expect that did ya? I hope you liked the chapter though! Plus if anyone thinks I've forgotten, Ziva quizzing Tony being a player will be her soon, but it didn't fit this weeks chapter. I love reviews whether they're things you liked, things that weren't so good or if you have a question about the story. I try to respond to all my reviews and I usually do (unless I'm ridiculously busy or FanFic is down)**

**What's the weather like where you live? :)**

**~Lori **


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